Adventures In Summer School
by Agatha-Naomi
Summary: Ichigo and Rukia had missed a lot of school because of Soul Reaper duties, so they managed to land themselves in summer school. How will they survive? And what changes could be in store for them when they start spending these extra hours together?
1. Adventure in the Ladies' Room

Adventures In Summer School

AN: R/R and enjoy!

Being as Ichigo and Rukia had missed so much school because of Soul Reaper duties, they had been assigned a few weeks of summer school. It was a bummer, but it was what they had to do. Ishida and Chad had qualified too, but seeing as their grades were so good, they had gotten out of it. It was into the ending of the day when Rukia begged for a pass.

It struck Rukia as very ironic that after all the times she had left the classroom to fight hollows under the pretense of going to the bathroom, that this was the first time that she was actually in the girl's bathroom of Karakura High. Maybe it's a Kutchki thing that I don't go very often, she mused. I can hardly see Byakuya running off in urgency to go pee in a stall.

Perhaps it would have been better if she had been in here before. Then Rukia would have known that girls only go into the lavatory for three reasons, the first being the most obvious, the second having to do with the application of makeup and the fluffing of hair.

Teenage girls nearly always go in groups so that they can gossip about other teenage girls. Shortly after Rukia latched the stall a group of girls meandered in for just that reason.

"I just can't believe her. Always acting so cute and fake. And then she drags Ichigo off somewhere."

"I know right? And what's with all those retarded bunnies she always draws? She's so weird."

"I've seen her kick him! And somehow he puts up with her."

"Did you hear that she's living with him and his family?"

They were talking about me? Rukia blinked and wondered why they would want to talk about her. She mostly kept to herself. And her drawings weren't that bad!

"I don't get what he sees in her. I mean, she's not even pretty."

"You should show him how a real girl acts. I bet she's a virgin."

"Who would even touch her? She's so flat!" They erupted into giggles and loudly walked out of the bathroom.

Rukia got out after them and calmly washed her hands. Those girls could gossip all they wanted. She could kill an Espada and an army of hollows! They couldn't do shit. Why should she care what they think?

"_I can't believe her, always acting so cute and fake. And then she drags Ichigo off somewhere."_

It was her responsibility to drag Ichigo out to hunt Hollows. And she liked the cutesy talk since it pissed him off so much. If it bothered them too, than that's not her fault.

And sometimes he needed to be kicked. It was fine that she was living with his family. Isshin considered her a third daughter. Yuzu and Karin liked her well enough, and Ichigo had assured her that she wasn't a burden.

It was strange how all the cruel things the girls had said could be explained away, yet still left a sore spot. She knew she wasn't ugly, or weird, and that it was alright to be a bit of a prude.

So why does she still care so much? Honestly, it shouldn't bother her so much if a bunch of silly human girls didn't like her.

'School' went by fairly quickly. Rukia kept scolding herself for dwelling on the overheard conversation in the bathroom. It didn't matter.

It doesn't mean anything. She needed to stop thinking about it. What was her problem anyway? She's had her body slashed to bits and gotten over it, and somehow she can't let go of some juvenile bashing. It was getting to be ridiculous.

"You ready to go?" Rukia blinked and looked up at Ichigo, who was waiting for her to pack up so they could walk home.

"Oh. Yeah." She shoved her stuff in the bag unceremoniously and followed him.

"You okay?" He inquired after they walked in silence for a few blocks.

"Yes. Why wouldn't I be?" She snapped. He kept right on walking and she felt a twinge of guilt.

"No, I'm not okay." Rukia murmured in defeat. He kept walking, but she knew he was listening.

"I overhead a rather juvenile conversation in the ladies room. I'm not exactly well received by all your classmates."

"And lemme guess. You feel stupid for caring so much about whatever shit they said about you? Well get over that. You may be a damn good fighter, but anyone would feel hurt by people talking smack about them. So just stop feeling bad about it already." Ichigo demanded, though not unkindly.

Rukia looked at him in disbelief. Did he really just tell her off to make her feel better? And god help her it had worked.

"Rukia?"

"Yes?"

"What they said isn't true." Ichigo assured her gently. She kicked him in the shins.

"Idiot! How can you know what they said isn't true? I haven't told you what they even said." Rukia scowled.

"I just know okay!" Ichigo growled, then softened, "Fine then. Tell me what they said, and I'll tell you why it isn't true."

"They said I was a flat chested virgin, who kicked a lot and drew bunnies nonstop! How is any of that not true? There I told you! Happy now?"

"You idiot!" Ichigo chuckled fondly, " Those things are all true, but I just can't see why those girls considered you a bad person because of it. Hell, I'd say those traits were what make you so damn entertaining. A kick happy prude drawing bunnies? How is that not badass?"

"It is badass isn't it?" Rukia muttered happily.

"Those girls spend their free time gossiping in bathrooms. Do you really want to be their definition of cool? You'd never spend you free time doing something that lame. You have better things to do."

"I'd say so. I could make you buy me ice cream." Rukia warned brightly.

" If you think you can make me do anything." He taunted slyly.

"How about I beat you to a pulp until you buy me ice cream?"

"Or how about not. We'll race to the clinic and if you somehow manage to beat me I'll buy you ice cream. Can your little midget legs handle it Rukia? Rukia? Hey no head starts!"

The ran like lunatics to the clinic, all thoughts of bitchy mean girls long gone from their head, to be replaced for the hope of ice cream that would surely be purchased soon.

AN: I think this is pretty IC. Do y'all like it? It's gonna be multi chap. And I know Rukia is like a 100 plus years old, but she's a virgin to me:]


	2. Adventure At the Ice Cream Parlor

Adventures in Summer School

AN: Thanks to all who reviewed! Enjoy:]

"Why do you eat the head first? That doesn't make sense!" Rukia yelled.

"Same reason we cut off hollow heads first. It's just right." Ichigo beheaded another gummy bear before eating the rest of it.

"So you eat the head first because it's just right? It's a candy Ichigo, it can't feel pain." Rukia chided, as though she was explaining something to an infant.

"How would you know? Have you ever heard a gummy bear scream?" Ichigo asked wryly.

"You're such an idiot! And that should be illegal."

"What?" cried Ichigo indignantly.

"Chocolate sprinkles and gummy bears? I'm amazed you even fit into robes anymore." Rukia snickered.

"Shut up. At least I wouldn't do something as crazy as putting a river of chocolate syrup on orange sherbet." He gestured with undisguised and open disgust at Rukia's rather colorful ice cream.

"Okay," Rukia grunted, "It sounds awful, but it's actually good." Truth be told it looked awful too.

"You put Inoue's cooking to shame." He announced boldly.

"Shut it or you eat it." Rukia warned, holding it in his face in a threatening manner.

"Just be grateful I bought it for you." Ichigo grumbled huskily, relieving another gummy bear of a head.

"I beat you to the clinic fair and square." Rukia claimed.

"You tripped me." Ichigo pointed out blandly.

"You never said I couldn't" She countered smugly, lapping at her chocolate covered sherbet.

Ichigo rolled his eyes and smiled. Leave it to Rukia to find a loophole.

"They had so many toppings in that ice creamery. I'm surprised at all the sweets in the Human World. The variety is endless."

"You're acting as though there's no candy in the Soul Society." Ichigo teased. She laughed and rolled her eyes.

"Well, there is. I just haven't had a chance to eat much. Well not until I joined Captain Ukitake's squad. You know how he is. Once he found out that I was living in brother's house he just took pity on me and started to bring candy. I had to tell him to stop."

"I can hardly see bowls of sweets in that ice blocks house. Cherry blossoms maybe… OW!" Ichigo rubbed his injured ear. He should know better than to insult her brother.

"Anyways, I didn't really have a lot of candy before I got adopted either. Candy in Hanging Dog wasn't easy to steal." Rukia took an absentminded lick at her treat.

"You'd probably give it to someone else too." Ichigo murmured.

"Why would you say that?" Rukia asked out of curiosity. Was she an open book or something?

"Well you helped the other kids, like those siblings." Ichigo said, hoping he wasn't bringing up a sore spot.

"I did. I took care of some of them." Rukia muttered glumly. Ichigo felt like an ass for upsetting her.

"The others got killed or hurt." Ichigo deduced gently.

"Yes. Most of the kids I met in Hanging Dog died."

"Well, you can't save everyone. Eat your ice cream, it's dripping." Words of comfort weren't really his thing.

Rukia punched him in the arm and told him not to be so bossy, and did as she was told. Ichigo ate his ice cream which was suddenly tasteless and bland, despite it's orgy of various yummy and exotic toppings.

He forgot about Rukia's childhood sometimes, or lack thereof. He'd always try to picture her as an orphan stealing to survive, being chased by vendors, and watching young friends die, but he couldn't see it. It just didn't suit someone like her.

Rukia was just too stubborn and strong to have been in such a low place at anytime in her life. Then again she was probably strong because she was forced to live in such a desperate place. To have had to take care of herself, must have been extremely hard.

In any case, he'd stop worrying about her having grown up so fast. She had an inner child, if her love for fuzzy bunnies and doodling were any indication.

So maybe she had cheated him into buying her ice cream, but if that made her happy, than who was he to fuss? Doesn't she deserve something good and simple after everything she's been through?

"Hey Ichigo. You should eat your nasty ice cream before it melts."

"Bossy! Don't order me around!" He teased stupidly.

"But if I didn't order you around you'd be all confused." Rukia taunted playfully.

"At least I didn't land us in summer school." He smirked.

"Hey! That was you!" Rukia cried indignantly.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night." Ichigo laughed as he threw the remainder of his snack/montrosity into the nearest trash bin.

"Oi! Come back here!" Rukia shouted. Ichigo laughed and started a mad dash back to the clinic, a very irritated Rukia right on his heel.

In other words everything was normal.

"HELLO ICHIGO!" Isshin cried triumphantly, only to be knocked down by his son and third daughter as they raced to his room.

Unfortunately the perverted doctor misunderstood the reason behind their urgency. Over dinner they explained repeatedly that they had been racing for fun, not because they were eager to make it to Ichigo's bedroom. Isshin drew a different conclusion nontheless and immediately launched into a very frank and awkward speech about "urges".

By dessert Isshin was unconscious, Karin was laughing like a hyena, and Yuzu had several pressing questions, which her older brother was unwilling to answer until she was older.

Rukia went to go draw in her sketch book after dinner, and Ichigo was reading on his bed. They cohabited very peacefully, and it was relaxing to have a silent place to be themselves, without having to be alone.

"Ichigo?" Rukia broke the silence first.

"What?"

"Thank you."

"Che, it's not a big deal. Lemme know if you hear more people talk about you."

"Sounds good." Rukia muttered. She doubted she'd overhear them again. She was just glad that someone would have her back if she did.

AN: R/R please!:]


	3. Adventure at The Urahara Shop

Adventures in Summer School

AN: Thanks for all the feedback! Enjoy chapter 3!

It was the pits spending their precious summer vacation time in summer school. Their teacher had an incredibly nasally voice and took great joy in telling them about how they could have avoided summer school by applying themselves more.

'Yeah I was too busy saving this town from Hollows who would devour someone like you without blinking.' Ichigo thought grumpily.

A wad of paper magically appeared at his desk.

**I hate this place.**

Ichigo smiled and wrote back, passing the note back to Rukia. Sure, she drew bunnies all over her notes, but he would have died of boredom without her there to share the misery with him. Whether she was following him to an alternate dimension, or passing him funny notes, Rukia was always someone he could count on.

They had somehow endured a week of their sentence already, but the last and final week was going slowly. Luckily the hours weren't as long as those of regular school. That would have reeked.

Speaking of bad luck, a hollow howl in the distance caught their attention. Ichigo and Rukia both snapped their heads up.

But they weren't the only ones who had heard. A young girl in the back stirred at the sound too. She was a transfer student from America, and had managed to rack up a lot of absences too, despite having only been at Karakura High for a short while. Her friend beside her raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow and passed her a delicately folded note.

**Hollow?**

It was now lunchtime, so Rukia and Ichigo's departure to go kill the hollow was not suspicious. They rushed out in it's direction, swords blazing.

They arrived at the location only to see it wasn't there.

"What the hell? Did it run off?" Ichigo demanded.

"There's no trace of it." Rukia pouted.

"That's because we already killed it." Came a feminine voice. Rukia was sure she had heard it before, but when? Realizing why the voice was familiar, her eyes widened in shock.

"_I mean she's not even pretty."_

"Who the hell are you?" Ichigo shouted angrily.

"I am Denise Richards, and this is Jessica. We are the new exchange students from America. We usually only take care of Hollow in our own town, but we got a little bored." Denise shrugged and flicked her hair, her friend nodding in smug agreement.

"Why can you even see them? Are you guys soul reapers?" Rukia asked urgently.

"Substitutes actually. See, since your friend became one, it's become quite common practice. Didn't you know?" Jess answered boldly.

"I don't know everything that goes on in Soul Society. But I strongly suggest you two keep out of our way." Rukia marched off, Ichigo following her intently.

"Why would the Soul Society post more Substitutes? That seems odd." Ichigo muttered.

"I intend to ask Urahara. I find those two suspicious." Rukia growled.

"Yeah, it does. I don't like the idea of those two taking all our jobs. Besides they've been here how long? I remember them transferring in a few weeks before spring break, and there was a big fuss about them being new, but why would we just now notice them? And why haven't we noticed any spiritual pressure from them?" Ichigo wondered.

"Like I said I think it's all pretty suspicious." Rukia grumbled. Her eyes softened. "I did notice some spiritual pressure the other day that I wasn't familiar with. Now that I've met these girls, I'm pretty sure it was them."

"Well why didn't you say so before? When did you feel their spiritual pressure before?"

"When two girls in the bathroom were gossiping about me."

"That was them? You're saying that they were the ones talking about you?" Ichigo asked, dumbfounded.

"I'm pretty sure their reistsu and voices are the same. So it is very likely that these two girls claiming to be Substitute Soul Reapers from America, know me and dislike me."

"That's not good." Ichigo chuckled nervously.

"No shit Sherlock. Let's go back to school. Then afterwards I think we should talk to Kisuke. He may know something." Rukia started the walk back to school.

"Sounds good. And Rukia, if these girls turn out to be the ones from the bathroom, I'll be on your side okay? Even if they are Subs like me."

"Ichigo."

"Let's just get back to class. I want my lunch." Ichigo brushed past her and kept walking.

Rukia smiled and followed him. He was on her side wasn't he? Then again what else is new?

School was tedious, and it was a great relief when it ended. Ichigo and Rukia made the walk to the Urahara Shop, hoping for some answers.

"Well, I'll check around, but I don't know how much I'll learn about them." Urahara warned after they explained the situation to them.

"Here!" He exclaimed after some rummaging around. "One year ago two teenage girls in America saw Kenpachi while he was on a mission in America and since they saw him they demanded explanation."

"Why didn't he erase their memory?" Rukia groaned.

"Well, he sensed that they had high spiritual energy, and fought them instead of merely erasing their memory." Kisuke explained patiently.

"And they survived?" Ichigo deadpanned.

"They did. And since they did, the Soul Society decided to give them Soul Passes." Kisuke concluded.

"Not everyone can beat a thug like him." Rukia murmured appreciatively.

"I did." Ichigo pointed out sulkily.

"In any case they probably heard about the original Substitute in Japan and decided to come see for themselves, and that's why they are here now." Urahara deduced.

"But why can't they just go back to America? I mean they can't leave their post!" Rukia shouted.

"I'm sure that just like we have the guy with the Afro, they have someone in their town." Ichigo reasoned.

"I know." Rukia sighed, "Thanks Urahara."

They exited the shop and started the walk home.

"It'll be fine Rukia. Stop worrying." Ichigo scoldly gently.

"I'm not worried about them." Rukia lied.

"Bull."

"Yeah I know." She relented.

"Now, let's go home. I need to relax if I plan on staying sane." Ichigo laughed.

"It was a day wasn't it? I say we watch a movie." Rukia announced.

"As long as I get to pick."

"That's not fair!"

"Life ain't fair!" Ichigo rebutted, running ahead of her.

"Get back here Ichigo!"

Rukia ended up picking, and since he liked the movie she had chosen well enough he didn't complain all that much. Ichigo dozed off and she made a mental note to tease him about it later.

Today had been hard, and the new bratty Subs would surely be challenging but she knew she'd have Ichigo to help her when she needed to calm down about it. He was just trustworthy like that. She decided to abandon the movie, and watched him sleep instead. He didn't snore or drool like she would have expected. He had such a loud and bold personality, and yet he slept completely silently, his body perfectly still.

When did she fall in love with this idiot?

AN: Whee! I know there was drama today, but no flames, 'cuz it's my birthday today! *throws confetti*


	4. Adventure in Boredom

Adventures in Summer School

AN: Thanks for all the reviews and birthday wishes! I finally got my muse back… she was taking a nap :p

"Ichigo."

"Ichigo."

"Ichigo wake up."

"Huh?" He lifted his head up and blinked. Rukia snickered when she saw a smudge of drool on his scratched up desk. He only seemed to drool when he was sleeping in public. He never drooled at home. Perhaps his body just wanted to make a mockery of him.

"Thanks." Ichigo muttered, wiping his mouth and sitting up. He had taken to falling asleep in their study hall, since it was so boring. It certainly didn't help that he had the shortest attention span known to man. It was a wonder he was passing the grade at all, much less with B's and C's. She's seen goldfish take more detailed notes than he tended to. Then again she only drew in class, so she was one to speak.

Rukia usually let him sleep, but a few days ago their instructor had thrown a piece of chalk at another summer detention sufferer, causing him to wake up in a frenzy, and all the other students to laugh quite obnoxiously at his predicament. And, honestly it was funny as hell. It was rather unfortunate for him though. Poor bastard.

So as funny as it would be to see the same happen to her redheaded companion, she had taken to awakening him when he dozed off. He'd hate if he got chalk thrown at him. He cared far too much about his image. Besides he wasn't just tired because of boredom, he had had a long night. He deserved a gentler awakening than chalk to the head when he slept in class. They'd chased Hollows all night. Denise and Jessica seemed perfectly content to catch hollows during the school hours, but they wouldn't dare to chase the ones that arrived at 3:00 in the morning. And guess who dragged their asses out of bed to kill those night owl Hollow scum? It figures right?

The girls would use hollows to get out of school, but they'd never help the ones that showed up at inconvenient times. It infuriated her. Maybe more than it should.

To add insult to injury, they always erased the teachers memory when they left to kill a Hollow. That way they never got in trouble. But, it was not safe to constantly erase the memory of one person, it could seriously confuse and disorient someone if done repeatedly. She'd have to tell them that soon. Rukia really wasn't looking for ways to piss them off, she just didn't want them to think that Soul Reaper duties were something fun and novel. It was hard work, and it came with serious rules and responsibilities. She had so much to teach them, if they'd even listen to her.

Lunchtime was 4 long and tortuous hours away, so the fun of sitting and listening to lectures was just beginning. Ichigo was dozing slightly again, so she reached over her desk and gently shook him, ignoring the rather pleasant sensation of his sinewy shoulder. Not that she could ignore the coiled stength under her fingertips completely.

"Mhmmm. Five more minutes." He whined, sleepily and with bitterness at being woken up. She laughed and shook him lightly again, ignoring his cutely sleepy, but vicious protests.

"Up, or you'll get in trouble." Rukia pinched his arm and he turned to give her a half hearted glare. Had he have gotten a good night's rest it would have been remarkable. His glares were the first thing to go when he was fatigued, losing their effectiveness and simply proving to amuse her.

"I'm up now. Happy?" He grumbled. His sarcasm seemed to be fading too.

"Yes." Rukia giggled. She couldn't not laugh when faced with the wrath of a sleepy strawberry. It was just so brilliant.

"Mr. Kurosaki and Miss Kuchiki. Care to share what's so funny?" Their dragon of a teacher appeared at their desk and had both hands on her pudgy hips. They were the only thing on her that wasn't bone thin. She looked as mean as she acted. Rukia suspected she'd been teaching rowdy teenagers for far too long.

"Sorry." They grunted in unison. She made a harassed sigh, and went to go scold someone in the front for passing around a drawing that depicted her in a rather unflattering, but sadly realistic way.

"That was close. I'd rather face a Menos than her." Rukia whispered goofily, though somewhat honestly.

"I second that." Ichigo grumbled wholeheartedly. At that moment a neatly folded note landed on his desk. He frowned, being as it wasn't from his usual source, and opened it cautiously.

Rukia read over his shoulder, wincing at the pink unicorn decorated stationary and the author's tendency of cappping every 'i' with a smiley face.

**Ichigo!**

**So bored….. Talk to us.**

**Nicey and Jessy.**

Something inside Rukia snapped. They have every right to talk to him, even if they have crappy shinigami skills, and immature and bitchy tendencies… Oh screw it, she doesn't like them and doesn't want her best friend talking to them. She's man enough to admit that. Well she was a girl, but she would be a very manly man if she wasn't. Feeling slightly embarrassed of this odd thought, she wondered what they two girls behind the note would think if they had heard her thought. It was bad enough that they were so annoying, but why can't they be ugly? Jess had that cute blonde bob, and Denice had the longest brown hair and it was curled so pretty. They had perfect skin, and huge eyes and pouty lips... It wasn't fair. Inoue was pretty like them, but at least she was nice. Inoue didn't have those weird fake nails, and didn't dot her 'i's all stupidly. Inoue used to drive her nuts, and now the universe was showing her that yes, there are girls as ditsy as Inoue, and then some, with some rudeness thrown in.

And Rukia knew she wasn't ugly, but compared to those two she felt like she may as well be their overexhausted, thin and grumpy teacher. The sound of a a pen scratching along paper snapped her out of her self pity.

Ichigo was scribbling something back, and she looked on in curiosity at his reply.

**I'd talk to you, but I'm really tired after all those Hollow you two slept through last night. How 'bout you start getting some of those before we talk, alright?**

"I take you don't like them either." Rukia murmured. She hoped she didn't sound as sadistically pleased at this fact as she felt.

"Not particulary." He passed the note back. Denise scanned it quickly, her lips gently pursing in annoyance. "They could be alright, and I'll give 'em a chance, but they just don't seem to take it all seriously." Ichigo admitted. Rukia resisted the urge to jump up and down. Since when did she take so much joy in people she didn't like getting angry? Oh, right that was nothing new.

"True. I intend to tell them that they can't keep erasing our teacher's memory. It's not safe for her." Rukia supplied. It really wasn't. Poor ugly lady was likely confused. She had her memory erased like everyday. Maybe she'd even be nicer if that stopped. Rukia doubted it though. It's fine to dream anyways.

"Yeah, she might be a swamp beast, but we can't have her being a confused swamp beast." Ichigo agreed wryly. She laughed despite herself.

"How long until lunch?" Rukia asked tiredly, craning her head to see the clock. It was still broken.

"Three hours." Ichigo replied hopelessly, after studying his watch.

"Twenty questions?" Rukia asked with a deathly boredom.

"We played that yesterday. Besides you picked Chappy twice for me to guess." Ichigo pointed out.

"That's true, but I'm not playing I-spy again." Rukia warned. She'd shunpo to the pits of hell before she played that again. They had spent a good three hours yesterday playing the stupid game. It had eaten up a good chunk of time, she'd give it that, but then again Chinese Water Torture did too.

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Ichigo laughed.

"Oh, god I don't even know." Rukia moaned.

"Alrighty then." Ichigo growled.

"Why has it become my job to entertain you?" Rukia yelped. She wasn't as tired as Ichigo was, but her lost sleep still made her a bit irratible.

"It's not, but you could come up with something." He rebuttled, a bit too loudly.

"Kurosaki! Kuchiki!"

"I said that really loud didn't I?" Ichigo asked casually, while Swamp Beast Chan made her murderous way to his desk.

Rukia face palmed and groaned.

It was still three hours until lunch.

AN: R/R please!:]


	5. A Turn Of Events

Adventures in Summer School

AN: Thanks to all who reviewed! Enjoy this next piece!

Ichigo sat down at the bench and lazily opened his bento. Maybe if he ate he wouldn't feel so tired. Yuzu's cooking could work wonders. He was slightly worried by how many Hollows had shown up last night. He'd guess it was over ten, but less than fifteen. The average night had around three or four to take care of.

"You okay Ichigo?" Rukia sat down beside him and munched on her lunch, un-opened juice box in hand.

"Tired." He grumbled.

"There was an unusual amount of Hollow last night." She offered, handing him her juice pack to open.

"I was just thinking about that." Ichigo murmured.

"It's not so high an amount to be concerned. Perhaps a larger amount of Hollow than usual had come done to the human world. I'm sure it's nothing." Rukia sipped her newly opened juice.

"If it's more than usual again tonight?" He wondered curiously.

"Then we ask Urahara." Rukia murmured, seeming to be in thought.

"Sounds good." Ichigo muttered, only to be cut off by a vicious yawn. "Damn. You pulled an all nighter too, and I'm the only one this tired." He rubbed his face to hide another yawn.

"Well, I've been doing this longer. Besides you're still a teenager. You need more rest." Rukia concluded.

"You worried about me or something?" Ichigo laughed.

"That's silly. You may be a moron but you have survived for 16 years of life." Rukia shouted, her face a light pink.

"You're worried about me!" He accused.

"Am not!" Rukia screeched.

At that moment Rukia's phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Rukia, this is Urahara. I found out a few interesting things. I'd tell you by phone, but we can't chance being overheard."

"We need to go to Urahara's shop." Rukia announced, turning to Ichigo. He blinked and looked confused, but nodded anyways.

"You wanted to talk to us?" Ichigo prompted once they had reached their destination.

"Yes I did. Ukitake was curious about these girls like you guys were so he did a little digging. He read about the night Kenpachi went down to the Human World."

"And? How did they beat him?" Rukia demanded, having wanted to know this for some time.

"Well they didn't. The record of the incident was changed. Kenpachi heard rumor of them becoming subs because he was beaten by them and insisted that it wasn't true. Ukitake checked the report of the incident and found that it the signatures were wrong. Luckily with Mayuri's help they tracked down the original document. They also found that two soul badges had been replicated." Kisuke now paused to fan himself and waited for them to catch up.

"So they are posing as subs? And did the original record better fit Captain Zaraki's memory of the fight?" Rukia demanded. Kisuke smiled. She never took long to catch up.

"That's right. The mission was not a simple Hollow mission like the old report stated. It was a scoping mission. Kenpatchi was sent to investigate a new type of Hollow with special abilities."

"Which are?" Ichigo prompted in exasperation.

"Possession, although it's hardly a new ability. However this Hollow's abilities are more advanced. He doesn't use this ability fto make others fight for them. He's using it to gather information by planting someone under his control in a situation he wants to know more about."

"So you believe that Denise and Jess are being controlled by this monster? And that they were forced to create a false report of the instance with Zaraki? And they were made to duplicate soul badges too? All because this Hollow wants to know more about us?" Ichigo asked, dumbfounded.

"We believe that's the case, yes. Anyways the real report of the incident is that the hollow evaded Kenpachi and he lost it around a shopping mall in Denise and Jess's hometown. Incidentally that's where they went missing from about a year ago."

"They aren't really here as exchange students?" Ichigo gasped.

"No. I bet that's why they keep erasing our teacher's memory. She probably realized that they aren't real students at Karakura and shouldn't be in summer school." Rukia mused.

"But they couldn't lose their connection to us, so they erase her memory daily." Ichigo concluded.

"Precisely. So to recap, a year or so ago Kenpachi lost track of a Hollow around a mall, and Denise and Jess shortly were reported missing by their parents. A month after that two soul badges were replicated. The report was changed and they came to Japan and began posing as exchange students." Urahara paused thoughtfully, expecting questions.

"Then why did they talk shit about Rukia if they don't even know her? And why is the hollow level at night higher than normal?" Ichigo shouted.

"Have they been around while you two fought?" Urahara wondered.

"No. we've never seen them fight either." Rukia supplied.

"They talked negatively about you Rukia in hopes you would attack them and allow them a way to study your fighting style. And what's this about hollows levels at night?" Urahara demanded softly.

"They don't have true abilities so they couldn't kill a Hollow. Besides the Hollow possessing them wouldn't kill it's kind. There's been so many during the night because the ones that we thought they were killing are accumulating." Rukia sighed.

"But that one when we first met them disappeared before we had a change to catch it. It was completely gone!" Ichigo yelped.

"Maybe he killed it so he could persuade you guys into thinking they were true soul reapers. Maybe it truly did escape and you guys caught it that night once it showed again." Urahara mused.

"Or maybe right now the amount of hollow is a factor we just don't know. Maybe he's recruiting." Ichigo muttered darkly.

"In any case, let's not jump to conclusion." Urahara chided, "We still don't know for sure why it's got you two on surveillance."

"Because it's smart enough to know that we'll be the ones to take it down if anyone does." Ichigo said, grinning. Rukia smacked the back of his head.

"And just how the hell do you suggest we do that?"

AN: Oh how the plot thickens. R/R please!


	6. Plan Of Action

Adventures in Summer School

AN: Thanks to all who reviewed the last chapter!

"So what now?" Ichigo murmured, rubbing his forehead in a rare show of fatigue. Rukia made a mental note to scold him later. He needed some sleep.

"Well, we need to find a way to get the Hollow out of them. Then we'll need to destroy it." Urahara chirped happily.

"I think we already knew that! How the hell do we do all that?" Ichigo yelled.

"Beats me. Now if you excuse me I'll have to find something to tell their parents, once they are free. They have been missing for a year you know." Urahara fanned himself once more.

"Can't you just erase their memories?" Ichigo wondered, rather oblivious to the silliness of his question.

"Oh yeah, just erase a full year of memory. That'll be too hard. Besides when children go missing many people hear about it. The news will have covered it and police will have been involved. Their disappearance will have been widely known by this point. Memory erasing is not an option." Rukia chided. Ichigo glared at her with venom. At least his glare was back, so he must not be as tired as she had previously thought.

"Okay, so replace their memories." Ichigo grumbled.

"We'll need something really credible. I'll be working on that while you two track 'em down. Try not to hurt them in the process." Urahara warned.

"We'll try our best. Let's go Rukia. I've got a feeling that Urahara got the easy part."

"Seeing as I'm already in trouble, you guys should resign from your summer classes. You'll need all your free time to catch them." Urahara revealed shyly. Ichigo fixed him with a suspicious look that made the shop owner squirm.

"It's not like we can get out of summer school." Rukia laughed.

"Oh it'll be easy. You guys were absent 15 times each. But summer school only kicks in after 20 absences. I upped your absences in the school computer so that you'd get it. We needed someone to keep an eye on Denise and Jess while we investigated them."

"WHAT THE HELL?"

Minutes later Urahara had fled the shop and the duo had returned home to sulk over the days events. Ichigo was sitting on his bed thinking and Rukia was drawing, no doubt using her crappy skills to illustrate her thoughts.

"Stop feeling guilty Ichigo." Rukia scolded suddenly.

"What? I'm not feeling guilty!" Ichigo exclaimed.

"Oh well, I thought you'd feel bad about finding that the extra hollows are ones that we missed during the day. We had assumed the girls were catching them and innocent souls may have payed." Rukia as always hit the pin on the head. She tended to do so when it came to the inner workings of one Ichigo Kurosaki;

"If you say it like that." He groaned. "It was such a stupid mistake." He buried his face in the pillow. It was a rather classic teenage move, and it never failed to amuse her.

"Well it's unfortunate, but there's nothing we can do now. Besides we don't know that any wholes were killed by the loose Hollows." Rukia muttered hopefully.

"Your optimism is nauseating." Ichigo seethed, "That's what the Hollows did, and you know it."

"Fine, I know that's what happened. But I can't have you beating yourself up. We'll be very busy trying to sort this all out. We'll have to follow them on top of our normal duties. You'll need to let go of your guilt over our mistake so we can do that."

"Fine. As much as I'd hate to say this, I think we ought to stay in summer school. That way we can keep track of them." Ichigo sighed.

"And they'll continue to gather information on us." Rukia pointed out smugly.

"I know! But you heard Urahara! This Hollow is smart and if he wants information, he'll get it. So if he doesn't get the scoop on us in class, he'll have them follow us. If we're gonna be in his scope we might as well have it on our terms." Ichigo countered.

"Your right." Rukia conceded.

"I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" Ichigo requested smugly, before taking a sketchbook to the face.

"Anyways," Rukia smirked, "We'll stay in summer school and we'll handle all hollows, and we'll investigate the the girls. All at the same time. We also need to be extra sure to always get to the Hollows before they do. Urahara might have told us not to jump to conclusion, but I do think they're recruiting Hollow."

"So I was right twice?"

"Yes. And I hope for your sake you stop celebrating." Rukia warned dangerously.

"Fine. This is gonna be one hell of a mission." Ichigo chuckled.

"We could request back up, but that'll tip them off. Let's just hope we can exercise them before this all gets too complicated."

"Like it all ever works out that cleanly." Ichigo groaned. Shinigami affairs weren't exactly known for their simplicity. Quite the opposite in fact.

"I know, right? Let's just work hard and hope for the best." Rukia went back to her drawing.

Ichigo returned to his thoughts. He really didn't like these new developments. It was already complicated. Their plan of action required hard labor and intense trickery. It surely wasn't going to be a relaxing summer. His life really sucks right now.

"Hey Ichigo. Denise and Jess really seem to like you." Rukia piped up. Ichigo frowned.

"They're being controlled right now. y just pretending to so I'll give 'em information."

"I know. But maybe you could take advantage of that. Get closer to them and get us more information." Rukia replied.

"So how would I do that?"

"Spend time with them."

"Rukia are you saying I should date the enemy so we can spy on them while they spy on us?"

"Ichigo, that is exactly what I'm saying."

AN: I know that it might be an odd suggestion for Rukia to make, but I do think she puts her job before her emotions. We will get a very healthy dose of jealous Rukia, so don't worry about that:]


	7. Rukia's in a Funk

Adventures in Summer School

AN: Thanks for all the support! And for those worried about Rukia's rather stupid suggestion, I promise it'll be good for Ichiruki in the long run:]

Rukia absentmindedly drew in her notebook, listening to their teacher's drone. Ichigo was dozing very lightly, and she made no move to wake him. If he became obvious she would, but for now he needed all the rest he could get. They had gotten two Hollow alerts during class so far, and had raced to get them before Denise, Jess and their evil buddy did. Rukia had no doubt that they'd be able to take care of their normal duties, even with school and their mission, but she still felt a bit uneasy.

It was always hard when it came to possession, and it didn't help that Rukia had dealt with it before in some very frightening ways. She had hurt Ichigo when possessed by her old friends. She had tried to kill Orihime when Muramasa and his doll gained control of her body. Add in Kaien, and possesion was naturally her biggest fear. Rukia chuckled nervously. It was pretty serious for an occupational hazard.

She dreaded the moment they would be forced to face the Hollow. What if the girls are hurt in the process? What if she's possessed again? No, no time for that. She had scolded Ichigo for being worried and she didn't need to worry either. She needed to pull herself together before Ichigo thought something was wrong.

"Rukia? You cool?" It seemed that Ichigo had already noticed the state of funk she was drowning in. Why does he have to understand her as well as she did him? It was a mixed blessing, that's for sure.

"Huh? Oh I'm fine. You're finally awake." Rukia blushed at having been caught in thought. She was such an idiot!

"I've been thinking about your idea, and I don't think it'll work. I mean I'd only date one of them, and the other would be loose. Unless you want to date the other." Ichigo added wryly.

"Not really. Perhaps we could just befriend them?" Secretly Rukia was relieved that he had rejected her idea. Maybe it was due to her stress and fear because of the whole ordeal, but she felt pretty darn sensitive right now. She felt like she needed all of Ichigo's spare time right now, so he could help her make it through. This truth made her feel like a freaking damsel in distress, but it was still true. She prayed no one would ever know, especially the amber eyed teen currently eying her with tender curiosity and concern.

Besides she didn't want Ichigo taking other girls out for ice cream. It was her right. She shook her head fervently, cursing herself for acting like a jealous girlfriend.

"Rukia? Still in there?" Ichigo waved a hand in front of her face.

"Yes. Sorry." Rukia mumbled. She really was spacing out today.

"You worried about all this? I know you've been possessed before, but I won't let anything happen to you." Ichigo promised. He was wiping the drool of his desk currently, and Rukia thought it funny that he could do something so gross while making a sweet promise. Even if she was mortified to hear such a declaration.

Rukia's face palmed. Of course. Ichigo knew her far too well not to guess her true, and embarrassing feelings. So much for dignity.

"What makes you think I'm scared?" Rukia yelped. This was their pattern, one of them would be scared, and the other would reassure them, only to get their head bitten off. They'd start a battle of wills, and in the end they'd both be feeling feisty, all fears forgotten. It was how they worked, and Rukia was incredibly grateful. These weren't mere fights, these were a way to save face, when one of them caught the other in a moment of weakness.

"Hey Ichigo, Rukia."

"Oh hey Denise. Jess." Ichigo looked up from the headlock he was currently in.

"How are you two?" Rukia murmured, releasing him.

"Pretty good." Denise replied, chewing lightly on a painted nail. Jess as always stood behind her, Denise clearly the Queen Bee.

They looked so normal, that Rukia almost didn't believe that they weren't really there. Urahara suspected they were still alive. Rukia hoped so, it would be awful if they weren't.

"Well, I wanted to tell you guys that I was sorry about the other day. I shouldn't have been so rude in that note." Ichigo apologized sheepishly. He was a pretty good actor.

"Oh no, it's alright, We just have trouble waking up for the nighttime calls that's all." Jess simpered.

"Well, we don't mind." Rukia shrugged, "Besides we might as well get along, being on the same boat and all."

"Cool. So what do you guys say? Maybe we can all go out sometime. Get to know each other." Ichigo suggested. Rukia felt like rolling her eyes at his obnoxious lack of subtley. Had she really just thought him a good actor?

"Sounds great. Tommorrow after school?" Denise giggled.

"Sure."

"Way to go Captain Obvious." Rukia scolded once the girls were out of earshot.

"Well the Hollow won't care, he wants to spy on us anyways!" Ichigo shot back.

"If he knows he'll be more careful and we'll get less dirt on him!" Rukia scolded angrily.

"Oh that's right." Ichigo agreed. "Ow! What you hit me for?"

"You were being a moron and it pisses me off!" Rukia seethed.

"Well then. That's a great excuse." Ichigo growled sarcastically.

She flicked him in the forehead.

"Ow! God you're a…"

"Finish that sentence. I dare you."

He lost the bet, wisely deciding not to say anything else.

Ichigo sighed, glad he hadn't accepted Rukia's idea. He didn't want to date either girl. He didn't get it. He'd seen Rukia's manga. The pansy dudes always asked their girlfriends out for lunch, and bought them ice cream. Took them shopping. About twice a week he took Rukia out to do something like that and she seemed clueless to his intentions. What does he have to do ask her out? Is it not a date unless he tells her it is?

Women are far too complicated.


	8. Denise's Battle

Adventures in Summer School

AN: Thanks as always for reviewing and I hope you keep following this! Enjoy y'all!

"Hey Rukia, there's something I've been wondering."

"Yes? What is it?"

"Do you really think he's recruiting?" Ichigo asked urgently. Rukia frowned.

"Ichigo, that was your thought in the first place. Why are you changing your mind now?" Rukia looked up from her manga and looked at him curiously.

"I'm not. I had assumed that they were being built up for a large attack, but all he did was have Denise and Jess pretend to catch 'em. Then they started showing up during the night for us to catch." Ichigo mused thoughtfully.

"So all he did was convince them to show up later? So we would have to kill them? Why would he do that?" Rukia wondered.

"You saw me, Rukia. I had no energy at all because I was up all night fighting. That bastard wants us tired and off our guard." Ichigo declared darkly.

"You're right. That must be what happened. He had Denise and Jess leave class so we would keep believing they were soul reapers. We thought at first that they were killing them since they disappeared completely, but all he did was convince them to go off our radar until night fell. Then they'd come out for us." Rukia deduced.

"And we'd be sleepy and stupid enough from being up all night for another day of being watched." Ichigo summed up grumpily.

"This bastard is at the very least, very smart." Rukia gasped.

"I like it so much better when they're not." Ichigo whined. Rukia chuckled. He had a point there.

"Well, school starts in twenty minutes, so let's go. We're hanging out with the Devil sisters today after school, and we can't miss that." Rukia gathered her bag and skipped out the door.

"I can't frigging wait." Ichigo muttered, dragging his ass out the door after her. She'd be the death of him. Being as they were in summer school, but not regular school, they couldn't wear their uniforms. He had been subjected to day after day of Rukia in regular clothes. She was wearing that pale yellow dress again, with tiny white tennis shoes. It was bad enough that they were being tormented by a genius hollow and sacrificing their precious summer time to catch him. Why does he have to control a damn near constant nose bleed on top of that?

Maybe he needs help. She's a midget after all! She's a badass, sword weilding midget! With big misty eyes and pert little….

"Shit!"

"Ichigo? What's wrong?" Rukia asked worriedly.

"Oh nothing. Stubbed my toe." He was being completely honest. He had indeed stubbed his toe just then, but only because he was too mesmerized by the way the yellow fabric swung opun her hips to actually watch where he was going. But what's a stubbed toe when he's being treated to such a sight?

"Idiot. Maybe if you stop staring at my ass you'll be a little less clumsy." Rukia chided.

Ichigo sweat dropped. She knew he checked her out? What the hell? Why did she walk in front of him if she knew? Did she want him to look?

School went by fast for Ichigo, who was in an absolute hormonal frenzy. For Rukia, caught up in worries about the Hollow's intelligence, it went very slowly.

In any case, school eventually ended, and they were now walking to meet up with Denise and Jess.

"Where are they? We were supposed to meet them here." Ichigo frowned.

"GET OUT!"

"Denise?" On the ground in front of them was Denise. She was shaking from head to toe and damn near bawling.

"She's fighting him." Rukia remarked sadly.

"We need to help her!" Ichigo shouted.

"There's not a damn thing we can do. It's up to her now." Rukia announced gently.

Denise may have had her memory erased for a year. She may have been kidnapped and taken to another country, where she was forced to do many awful things. But she must have had a strength the Hollow hadn't seen.

Because she was now prone on the sidewalk, with the ugliest Hollow Rukia had ever seen seething beside her.

"She won?" Ichigo gasped.

"She won." Rukia declared proudly. "Now we can kill him."

"Yeah, we can kill the Hollow, now. Except he's already gone." Ichigo growled furiously.

The hideously tall and spiky hollow that had been there seconds ago was gone without a trace.

"Shit." Rukia cried.

"What the hell is going on?" Cried the girl on the floor.

"Denise!"

"What do you remember?" Rukia asked urgently, kneeling beside the panicking girl.

"I remember being at the mall with Jess and this ugly thing grabbed my face." Denise sobbed. "And then I don't remember anything."

"Let's get her to Urahara's." Ichigo murmured.

"We need to find Jess first." Rukia replied. "She may still be under his control."

"Let's go then."

AN: Eh? So what do y'all think? :] R/R please!


	9. Old Memories

Adventures In Summer School

AN: Enjoy!

They had searched high and low for hours, but Jess was nowhere to be seen. They took Denise to the shop, and Urahara asked her many questions about the night she had disappeared. It was of no use. She remembered almost nothing, and was panicking so much that Rukia had to give her a paper bag to breathe into. It seemed that the last of her free will had gone into kicking the Hollow out. The poor girl was thoroughly traumatized. She had fainted a few minutes ago.

"What I truly don't understand is how he was able to possess them both at the same time." Tessai frowned.

"I've been wondering that as well." Urahara agreed. "In any case, I do believe it's time for backup."

A short while later the store was full. Urahara and Tessai had called Kenpachi and Yachiru, being as they had seen the Hollow. Captain Ukitake had also been asked to come.

"So it disappeared quickly Captain Zaraki?"

"That's right. He was fast for a termite." Zaraki growled, obviously displeased that a mere Hollow had out ran him. Garden variety Hollows were no match for the brute of a Captain. Then again this Hollow was pretty legit. It had escaped after all, and one had to be incredible if they didn't soil themselves and die an awful death in Kenpachi's presence.

"He was pretty big and ugly though, right Kenny?" His pink haired companion asked sweetly from his shoulder.

"In any case, his abilities are rather unique. I find it highly unusual that he was able to possess two people." Ukitake mused thoughtfully.

"Possession as we've seen it so far has been far less well executed." Urahara provided. "Muramasa required the use of his doll to possess others. However Denise was able to tell us that the Hollow grabbed her face. Keien Shiba was possessed when he came in direct contact with the Hollow Aizen had created. Perhaps this Hollows powers also require direct contact."

"I never heard about Keien." Ichigo murmured, " But if he's a Shiba, he must be Ganju's older brother? I heard that he had died."

"Yes. His wife was possessed by the hollow in question and killed her squad. Keien was taken over as well. They both lost their lives." Ukitake explained solemnly.

"Rukia? Could you help me with the girl?" Yourichi called.

"Coming!" Rukia bolted up and abandoned the meeting, rushing away.

"Thanks. Denise is starting to awaken, but I was hoping you'd watch over her. I thought I ought to join the meeting and I can't just leave her alone."

"I know what you're doing." Rukia sighed. "Your giving me a chore so I don't have to sit there while Captain Ukitake tells everyone about my personal experiences with possession and its consequences."

"Guess you caught me. You should still watch her anyways. She did faint after all. Besides, I think I need a break." Yourichi winked and waltzed out. Rukia didn't know whether to be insulted that she had interfered or grateful.

She knew that possession was not exactly an everyday occurrence, and that they needed all the background information possible in order to catch their new culprit.

But she couldn't stand to hear them discuss her shameful act so calmly. Couldn't bear to hear Keien's tragic end reduced to a somber report. And above all she didn't want Ichigo to know. And being as the whole affair was now so complicated, Ishida, Orihime, and Chad had also been called to the shop. All of her immediate friends were about to hear of her darkest secret.

Tears formed in the corners off her eyes, despite her best efforts. She shivered once and started sobbing silently. She had killed him, and yet again she was reminded of it.

She didn't know how long she sat in the back room, beside Denise and crying, but she could hear the Captains leaving. By now, everyone knew.

"Rukia."

Her eyes widened and she felt a wave of sheer panic. Ichigo was likely checking up on her. He had no doubt just been informed of her sin, and had come to question her about it. No, he wouldn't do something like that. Maybe he was here to pity her, or even to demand to know if it was true.

"Rukia." His voice was closer now, and softer than usual.

"What do you what?" She demanded, embarrassed by how shaky her voice was.

"I'm so sorry Rukia."

"About what? I'm fine!" Rukia yelped, fluffing Denise's pillows violently." Just watching her to make sure she's alright!"

"Rukia."

"Just mind your business alright? We can talk about me later, but we need to find Jess and the Hollow needs to be caught or…"

"Rukia! Just shut up will ya? I know you're not fine! You know you're not fine! A dumb, deaf, and blind toddler would be able to tell that you're not fine! So just shut up and let me hold you alright!"

She turned around and tackled him, clutching onto his jacket like she was drowning, grappling for anything to save her. Warm arms wound around her shaking frame, a solid torso protected her from cold reality.

She didn't know how long he held her, or how long she cried. He smelled warm and spicy and she buried in face in his chest and hid from the world.

"You're an idiot. Did you really think your actions would make me hate you? Keien died trying to save his wife. He was killed by someone who was decent enough to feel bad about it. If you think he would have preferred being killed by the same Hollow that killed his wife, then you're dead wrong. He went out with style because you had the guts to do what you had to."

"You don't hate me?" Rukia demanded softly. Ichigo laughed and pressed a chaste kiss to the top of her head.

"Che. Like I even could."

AN: I hope Rukia wasn't OOC. I think that killing a friend would be enough to send even a cool cucumber like her straight into crazy town. Anyways, review if this made you smile!:p


	10. Chizuru's Party

Adventures in Summer School

AN: Thanks as always to everyone who reviewed! Enjoy!

"Well, this has been one of worst classes I've had in a long time. Well, goodbye everyone." With that their teacher left the classroom, leaving the summer schoolers free after two weeks of hell.

"Hey, Rukia!"

"Oh. Hello, Chizuru," Rukia muttered cautiously, wondering what the bespectacled girl could possibly want.

"I'm having a back to school sleepover tonight. School does restart in a few weeks, you know. You should come, and bring Hime! It'll be fun! Plus Jess already said she could go! It's so cool to have an exchange student around! Anyways, hope you can make it!" With that the perverted and pink haired teen skipped off.

"Rukia, you have to go," Ichigo warned gently. Rukia rolled her eyes, and scolded him.

"No. I don't care if Jess is gonna be there. I am not gonna spend an evening talking about boys and makeup. I can't do it!" Rukia sighed.

"How else will we catch Jess? We need to take care of this before he does whatever he's planning. Take one for the team," Ichigo nagged, punching her lightly on the shoulder. She returned the blow, but more enthusiastically.

"Fine, I will go to a her dumb little gossip fest, but only so I can try to exercise Jess," Rukia huffed and started walking home, leaving him nursing his now bruised shoulder.

"I'll help you," Ichigo offered lamely, catching up to her. Rukia laughed roughly and turned to glare at him. He knew she wasn't that angry, just feeling feisty.

"What are you gonna do? Sit outside a window and watch for danger? Do you wanna look like a peeper?" Rukia laughed. She could see it now. Ichigo in the shrubs, watching Jess and Chizuru, the cops asking him why he was watching them. She laughed joyfully at the humorous thought.

"No, but I was hoping you'd ask if I can go. That way I can make sure things are safe." Ichigo murmured. Rukia had been kinda sensitive in the shop, and he wanted to make sure she was all right. She had cried in his arms, for Pete's sake, and she's mad that he's concerned about her? At least he knew now that she was back to normal, since she's back to being abrasive and stubborn. At least she wasn't all hurt anymore about that Shiba dude. Man, it had ripped his heart open to see her cry like that.

"Oh! That's great!" Chizuru giggled, having resurfaced from nowhere. They both jumped in surprise and swore. If Chizuru noticed this she sure as hell didn't show it. "We can get a bunch more people, and play Seven Minutes in Heaven and Spin the Bottle! And make sure to bring Hime!" Ichigo was starting to get the feeling that without Orihime, they weren't getting in.

"After we catch Jess, I can strangle her, right?" Rukia whispered darkly as Chizuru continued to babble about Spin the Bottle, and Orihime's first kiss. She was positively starry-eyed.

"I'm pretty sure you'd get in some trouble for that. Save your fury for the hollow." Ichigo advised. Besides, she wouldn't be around to help him with hollows if she were in the loony hospital for strangling somebody.

Isshin was very shocked that his son was going to a Co-ed sleepover, but he didn't seem to disapprove. He actually seemed proud. Ichigo had explained about Jess and the Hollow a while back and so his dad knew they'd be hunting tonight. It was kind of nice that his dad knew his secret, since he didn't have to hide anymore. He still warned Ichigo avidly about alcohol at parties and demanded he "Be diligent when protecting his third daughter." Ichigo punched him into silence and he and Rukia made their way to Chizuru's party. They went and got Orihime and Ishida for backup. Tatsuki had shown up to protect Orihime from Chizuru's prying hands, and Keigo was already there. Ichigo was a little concerned to see that Jess wasn't yet there. What was going on?

Everyone seemed to be trying to find something to do. Pizza was ordered, sleeping arrangements were argued over, and games were suggested, from cards to strip poker to Truth or Dare. Ichigo couldn't believe he was here. This was so incredibly girly.

"I wanna sleep next to Rukia," Keigo cried.

"Hey, so do I!" Chizuru yelled.

Great, so not only does he have to suffer a night of stupidity, and catch a badass hollow, he now also has to protect Rukia from all these perverts.

This just sucks.

"Hey, Ichigo." Rukia whispered, "If we don't catch her before night, I can sleep next to you right? Keigo'a afraid of you at least."

"Yeah that's cool with me." Ichigo grunted, feeling incredibly happy that she was asking for his help one way or the other.

"Pizza's here!" Orihime announced jovially.

"Now I say we play Truth or Dare!" Keigo giggled. Yes, he giggled. Ichigo sighed and willed himself to be patient.

"That's a juvenile game," Ishida pointed out.

"It's still fun!" Orihime laughed. "Tatsuki and I have played it before."

"No perverted dares though!" Tatsuki warned, in Keigo and Chizuru's direction.

"Okay! Truth or Dare, Orihime!"

"Truth!"

"Have you ever kissed a girl?" Chizuru asked innocently before taking a slice a pizza to the face.

"What did I say!" Tatsuki demanded.

"No perverted dares. That was a truth," Chizuru pointed out eagerly.

"This is gonna be a long night," Ichigo sighed.

AN: So this chapter was short, but there will be more tomorrow! Review please!


	11. Seven Minutes In Hell

Adventures In Summer School

AN: Enjoy and please review!:]

It was only an hour into the party, and things were already pretty crazy. They had consumed three large pizzas between them all, and taken turns embarrassing themselves during Truth or Dare. Thus, it was a very ordinary sleepover.

Ishida had been dared into licking the carpet, and Chad had revealed that he was afraid of centipedes. After Rukia had done jumping jacks around the room singing show-tunes, Keigo and Chizuru had moved onto their next evil game, which happened to be Seven Minutes in Heaven. At the moment Chad and Tatsuki were in Chizuru'S closet, despite their many protests. Ichigo wished he had had a camera when they had found out that their names had been pulled. He had never seen a pair sputter quite so much.

"Sorry I'm late everyone."

The group looked up from their post listening at the closet and saw their last guest.

"Oh! You made it Jess!" Chizuru babbled.

Ichigo felt the hair on his neck stand up. Her whole presence had changed somehow. It was murkier, foggier, and somehow very bitter.

He didn't like it one bit. What the hell was the Hollow doing to her?

A timer rang, startling him sharply.

"Time!" Orihime cried, going to release Chad and Tatsuki, whose minutes were up.

Keigo picked two more names out of the hat.

"Jess and Rukia! That's so kinky!"

Tatsuki quickly punched him to interrupt his tirade which would surely include many girl on girl jokes.

Ichigo watched in horror as Rukia and Jess {and the Hollow} were shoved inside the closet, the door locked and the timer set.

"Two pretty girls!" Keigo laughed, "All alone in a…"

BAM! All the party goers jumped and flinched as the wall of the closet was ripped off the side of the house like it was no more than wrapping on a birthday present. Splinters of wood and chunks of cement fell onto the lawn and street like some sort of hideous rainfall. Somewhere close by a hollow shrieked with grotesque fury.

Ichigo jumped out of the destroyed home and transformed on his way out, feeling Ishida and Chad launch out after him, Orihime on their tail.

He needed to end this now.

"Greetings Filthy Soul Reaper!"

"So it's been you causing all this trouble?" Ichigo laughed. Inwardly he was marveling at the ugliness of the Hollow. Nearly ten feet tall, he stood on two heavily armored feet, which were shaped like an eagle's foot. It had six pairs of arms and six huge, paw like hands. Most Hollows looked pretty bizarre, but looked more reptilian than anything else. The Hollow in front of him was green like a reptile sure, but from it's weird feet to the mask on it's face, he was birdlike. He even had a heavy plume of crimson feathers stemming from his head.

It was one ugly son of a bitch.

Ichigo must have spent too much time thinking, because he heard a whoosh of a clawed foot as it speed towards his head.

Dodging expertly, but cursing his inattention, Ichigo turned to glare murderously at the large nuisance.

"Who the hell are you? And why have you been possessing Jess? And where's Rukia?" Ichigo demanded angrily.

"Ha! Don't trouble me with such trivial questions!" The hollow laughed, "I suppose you thought I was controlling them so I could study you, but that's just hopeful thinking! I control the girls because it is my given ability! Their struggle amuses me!"

"Bastard!" Rukia cried. She looked as though she had fought it, but been hit. She wasn't bleeding, but Ichigo suspected that it had thrown her as it jumped out the window.

"Have either of you fools noticed that I have six hands? With one touch I may control anyone! I can get six at a time! Actually I already have! You two have until midnight to find them all!"

"Or what?" Ichigo challenged.

"I will kill all my little pets, and no one will ever know what became of them! But for now, I need a spot of rest. You have 4 hours until midnight. Oh, and I am Brimstone. Pleased to make your acquaintance!" Brimstone snarled and disappeared, leaving Rukia and Ichigo cursing.

"I don't feel like playing his little game!" Ichigo spat angrily.

"I don't see how we have any other choice. We already know about Jess and Denise and if we find them that only leaves four." Rukia reasoned.

"That's still a lot of people to find." Ichigo complained.

"I know. Let's concentrate on finding Jess for now." Rukia murmured.

"We'll help."

"Chad! Ishida!"

"And me!" Giggled Orihime.

"We ought to split up." Ishida suggested, "That way we can look very thoroughly for Jess."

"Ok. You three check that way. Rukia and I will go this way." Ichigo clarified. They all darted away in various directions to carry out their man hunt.

After walking for a few minutes Ichigo and Rukia came into an alley way. The smell of trash was slick in the air, making both teens crinkle their noses. A low hum came from the vicinity, and Ichigo stopped walking and tuned into his senses.

"Did you hear that?" He asked her cautiously.

"Hear what?" Rukia muttered back. A low and carnal growl emerged from the darkness. A dog sauntered into the alley, it's tail erect and it's back crouched. It's ears were flat against it's powerful skull. Drool dripped from his muzzle as he growled at the two soul reapers. He suddenly stopped and yipped, tossing his head from side to side, whimpering and flinching before it's eyes deepened in fury again and it resumed advancing toward them.

"Ichigo." Rukia murmured anxiously.

"What?"He asked quietly.

"I don't think that dog is in control of itself."

"It's not."

AN: Please review! Hope you liked!


	12. Fluffy Little Minions

Adventures In Summer School

AN: R/R y'all!

"Nice doggy!"

"Idiot! That never works!" Ichigo chided, "just run away!"

"Yeah, that usually doesn't work either!" Rukia laughed nervously. The dog was still advancing, drool dripping from his muzzle and his body crouched dangerously low. Bending down to jump, a sudden look came over his eyes, something akin to confusion. In an instant, his body rose from the predatory stance and his eyes softened. He sniffed cautiously and began to wag his tail. It was like he had no memory of ever wishing to harm a person.

"Guess he got control," Ichigo sighed in relief.

"No. That's not possible," Rukia murmured.

"Look at him though!" Ichigo gestured at the animal who was darting around his feet, begging for attention in the way dogs tend to.

"He doesn't have high spiritual energy. He's just a dog. How was his soul able to reject the Hollow's control? How is that possible?" Rukia murmured thoughtfully.

"That is kinda weird. Maybe we should bring him to Urahara," Ichigo suggested, scratching the dog behind the ears.

"Let's go," she agreed.

Ishida and Chad bounded into the area. Orihime trailed behind them, clutching a cardboard box in her arms.

"You guys are gonna think we're crazy," Ishida announced calmly.

"What's in there?" Ichigo demanded, gesturing at the box.

Rukia was already peering in, and reached in to pull out a puppy.

"There's five in there. And we came across them and they starting chasing us and growling. It was weird. And then they just suddenly stop and start acting normal," Orihime revealed.

"So you think they were possessed?" Ichigo deadpanned.

"We thought this dog was possessed!" Rukia scolded. "Why tease them for thinking the same thing?"

"None of them have high spiritual pressure," Chad stated serenely.

"Denise doesn't either," Ichigo grumbled. "I can't sense it anyways, it's pretty weak. I was happy she was free, but it's a little weird to think that she got control with spiritual pressure as low as hers."

"She didn't get her freedom by herself. He left her willfully," Ishida whispered.

"So he can't control people, even people with low spirit energy?" Orihime asked curiously.

"No. He must not. He tried controlling the dogs in a last ditch effort to gain his ability back. He was practicing on animals because they have very low energy, but he wasn't able too," Rukia summed up.

"That's not a very good strategy. Puppies pee a lot and might nip you a little, but they can hardly do serious damage to us," Orihime giggled.

"No, but he did give us a deadline to find all his victims. My guess is that he's off somewhere recuperating so he can use his powers later," Ishida suggested calmly.

"He did control two people for a year or so, so he must have worn out his abilities, even if they don't have high spiritual energy," Ichigo said.

They decided to go check on Chizuru. Rukia replaced memories until everyone at the party thought that the damaged wall was from a fallen tree. Conveniently, the Hollow actually had knocked a tree down, so that helped sell the story.

While walking back they had found Jess, who had been discarded when Brimstone came free. She was unconscious, but free like Denise now. After modifying everyone's memories they went to Urahara's to drop them off. Soon they would be home to their families in America.

All that stood left to do was to kill Brimstone.

It was nearly midnight, and since they were sure he'd find them then, they all went into an open area to fight him. At 11:59 he showed up on Rukia's soul pager and a minute later he appeared out of the skies and stood to face them.

"More this time? I have even more souls to eat!" he laughed evilly.

"You must need energy, considering that you weren't even able to control a couple of dogs!" Ichigo taunted slyly.

Choosing not to even reply, Brimstone howled in fury and launched out at them. Ichigo swung his sword and relished at the sight of Brimstone, sans one arm.

"YOU BASTARD!" Brimstone screeched, slamming his heavy tail straight into Ichigo's chest.

"Ichigo!" Rukia cried in alarm, running towards him. He was already back up.

"Shut up! I'm fine!" Ichigo swung up at him, intending to relieve the monster of another arm. He smirked at the scream that told him that he had been successful. Perhaps if he had been more alert, he would have seen the other arm come up to smack his body into the concrete. Lights popped in front of his eyes, and he surrendered to the force of the blow. Knocked out in the beginning of a fight. What is he a newbie? He felt the concrete tremble as Brimstone marched to his prone body, and he passed out to the sound of Rukia screaming.

AN: Please review, but don't hate me for the cliffy! It can't be avoided! Will update very soon! Promise!


	13. All Well That Ends Well

Adventures In Summer School

AN: R/R y'all!

Consciousness came first with a buzz in his ears, a swarm of color beneath his eyelids. A dull pain throbbed in his head and chest. Ichigo opened his eyes, and they struggled to adjust to the dim lighting of the room.

He recognized the bed he was on as his own. He smiled as he noticed a bottle of soda and two pain relievers on his nightstand. Rukia wasn't the type of girl to cry at your bedside, but she sure as hell knew how to take care of someone.

His door opened quietly and the object of his thoughts smirked at him when she saw him awake.

"You're dad said you were just unconscious and that you didn't have a concussion, so we just decided to let you sleep." She explained. "How do you feel?"

"Sore." He grumbled.

"Yes, well, being thrown and landing on asphalt does tend to have that effect." His eyes sprung open and he sat up quickly, making blood rush dizzyingly to his painfully pounding head.

"Don't do that! You'll pass out again!" Rukia scolded, pushing him back into bed.

"Where's Brimstone? Was he defeated?" Ichigo demanded in a panic.

"Without you, there were still four of us against one weakened hollow. Hate to bruise your ego, but he was easy to take down, even without you."

At that moment something large and grey bounded into the room, barking happily.

"The dog we were attacked by looks a great deal like the puppies, so we've assumed that she's their mother." The dog continued barking, turning in circles, begging for attention. It wasn't exactly a pretty animal, with her awkwardly flopping ears and short grey coat, but her charm was still undeniable.

"Orihime, Ishida, and Chad all took a puppy. Urahara took one with him when he went to go drop off Jess and Denise. Yuzu asked your father if we could keep the mother and the remaining puppy, and he agreed. Wait here." Rukia dashed into the hallway and he heard her bound down the stairs. Upon return she had a small puppy in her arms.

Despite the gray fur and floppy ears that he had inherited from his mother, the puppy had a white nose and a tan belly. Thus, he succeeded in being pretty darn cute. He squirmed excitedly in Rukia's arms, surveying his surroundings.

"Well, he is pretty cute for a mutt." Ichigo relented.

"School starts soon." Rukia sighed.

"At least we had an interesting summer. What's more fun than possession and summer school?" Ichigo remarked sarcastically.

"At least we got some ice cream" Rukia laughed.

"I just wish we didn't have to go back. School's such a hassle."

"Spoken like a true delinquent. At least there are some good things about school. You can beat up Keigo, ditch, take me to homecoming…"

"Wait, what was that last one?" Ichigo sputtered.

"Beat up Keigo?" Rukis offered cautiously.

"Do you want me to take you to homecoming?"

"No! I was just kidding. I know you hate stuff like that. Rap music, awkwardness, dancing, You and I wouldn't have any fun!"

"You still wanna go though don't you?" Ichigo teased.

"Yeah, I do." Rukia patted the puppy and avoided his eyes.

"So, we should go. And if we both hate it, we'll leave and get ice cream." Ichigo swallowed the aspirin she had left him and walked out of his room. He wanted to check on Yuzu, and dinner.

"So Usagi Chan, what do you think? I'd say this was a pretty good summer." Rukia kissed the tip of the dog's nose.

"Were you just talking to the dog?" Ichigo taunted, having not been out of earshot yet.

"No! I was not talking to Usagi Chan!" Rukia scoffed.

"You named him that? He may be a puppy, but that name's too girlie, even for him!"

"Is not!" She rebutted.

"It is the dumbest name I've ever heard. Ow! Bitch! Who throws things at people who are recovering from head injuries!"

"You were unconscious! You don't have a head injury! Not discounting any you were born with!" Rukia yelled. The puppy was still comfortable in her arms, showing no distress whatsoever at their loud voices. He would do well in this household.

"If you don't like his name, then name the mother dog!" Rukia suggested haughtily.

"Why do they even need names?" Ichigo pointed out. "They're just dogs." Rukia gasped and covered Usagi's ears.

"They are not just dogs! They're special! Aren't we just so special?" Rukia nuzzled the pup again to illustrate her point.

"You're talking to him again. OW!"

Rukia rolled her eyes and walked out of his room, wondering what color her homecoming dress should be.

Chuckling under his breath, Ichigo closed the door. Usagi watched him avidly and his seriousness was rather funny.

"See that? She's crazy! It's too bad we both like her too much." Frowning, Ichigo went back to check on dinner, grumbling half heartily

"Stupid bad ass virgins! Eating orange sherbet with tons of fudge. Now she's got me talking to dogs." Shaking hid head in mild self disgust, Ichigo made his way downstairs, wondering if Rukia would object if he were to grab her hand under the table.


End file.
